Witness: Man beaten with bat until it broke

Woman told Bethlehem police she saw her son and a second man attack her boyfriend.

August 20, 2009|By Pamela Lehman Of The Morning Call

A woman told Bethlehem police she saw her son and another man attack her boyfriend Sunday night with a baseball bat, hitting the victim so many times the bat shattered, according to court records.

While police have not identified the man wielding the bat, they charged Salvatore Scotto-Dicarlo, 20, of 431 Spruce St. in the assault, which happened just before 9 p.m. at a rooming house at 245 W. Fairview St.

Scotto-Dicarlo, who is also charged with burglary, simple assault, criminal trespass and reckless endangerment, is free under $20,000 unsecured bail. He could not be reached for comment.

The victim, Marco Columba, was in critical care Monday at St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill with fractures to his eye sockets, jaw and a concussion, police said. The hospital had no information on Columba's condition Wednesday.

Court records did not give a motive for the attack.

According to police:

When officers arrived at the Spruce Street home, they found Columba on a couch in a first-floor apartment. Police said Columba was "covered in blood," had deep gashes above both eyes and his face was "extremely swollen and bruised."

Columba was awake but not alert. Columba's girlfriend, Sharon Weed, told police she was in the rooming house when she heard loud banging in Columba's room.

Weed said she saw her son, Scotto-Dicarlo, and another man whom she did not know, repeatedly punching and kicking Columba. She told police the other man, not her son, had a wooden baseball bat and repeatedly struck Columba until the bat broke into pieces.

Police were not able to interview Columba until Wednesday. He told police he recalled walking into the room and was struck in the face with the bat, but did not see his attackers.

Columba told police he thought the men had been hiding behind the door of the room.